Content

As far away as it seems the 2020 Presidential election is already underway with nearly 10 democrats announced, and as close to a dozen more almost certain to throw their name into the ring. Thus, this semester I am going to be analyzing and discussing a new candidate each week that has formally announced.

This week will be the first candidate to officially announce; Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.

Every person in America should be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules, & take care of themselves & the people they love. That’s what I’m fighting for, & that’s why I’m launching an exploratory committee for president. I need you with me: https://t.co/BNl2I1m8OXpic.twitter.com/uXXtp94EvY

Senator Warren is a recently elected two term senator from Massachusetts, and before that she was a law professor at various law schools around the country, including Harvard, specializing in bankruptcy law. Her time in the Senate has been focused on the banking industry, specifically Wall Street and ensuring something like the crash of 2009 never happens again.

She has been a strong advocate for reinstalling the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated commercial and investment banking industries. She vigorously opposed a recently passed law that took out key components of the landmark post 2009 bill, Dodd-Frank, and has been on the frontlines of every major policy battle that pertains to big banks and more recently economic equality.

Senator Warren may be the most progressive person running for the presidency this cycle, and her proposals back up that claim. She talks about the increasing income inequality in this nation and has proposed various methods of curtailing that issue, while also creating enough revenue to help pay for some of the big social programs she plans to implement.

Just today it was released that she has been considering a wealth tax of 2% for those who are worth more than $50 million, and 3% for those worth more than $1 billion every year. This is the boldest tax plan of any candidate currently running in 2020, and will be a major part of not only her campaign but the debates that are starting up as early as June of this year. The plan is projected to effect only 75,000 families, or less than .1% of American households, and will bring in $2.75 trillion in the next decade.

The plan is meant to reverse the trend that is shown in the chart above, the growing wealth inequality in the nation. It will also be very helpful to fund her social programs such as Medicare-For-All, a healthcare plan that would ensure every single American citizen gets health care.

There are an exhaustive list of other stances she has taken, such as advocating for D.C. statehood, a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, etc. But her positions on the issues, and her firm knowledge on each one of them will make her a very formidable candidate come the first primary contest in Iowa early next year. She is already polling in second, just behind Senator Kamala Harris from California, who will be discussed next week, in recent Iowa polling.

There will be a lot of candidates running, and most of them will have the same views on the key issues, but those who take bold stances and are willing to stray away from the crowd to fight for ordinary, working class people, will pull away and she looks to be doing just that in the early stages.